


Bad Week, Better Days

by brighterbolder



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Fluff, Pre-Olympics, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 15:39:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14084133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brighterbolder/pseuds/brighterbolder
Summary: All they needed to do was talk, right?AKAT&S are having a rough training week; bad communication all around. That is, of course, until they're quite literally stuck.





	Bad Week, Better Days

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is just a short, fluffy piece about the challenges TS face when practicing. This isn't necessarily romantic, it really just demonstrates the bond that they have. ~enjoy~

“Tessa,” Scott groaned, following her off the rink. He struggled to put on his skate guards and keep up with her at the same time. “Come _on._ ”

“No, Scott, seriously, it’s fine,” Tessa said harshly, her voice taking a passive-aggressive tone. She snatched her sweater off a nearby bench and zipped it up in a huff. “If you really don’t want to do this, it’s fine. We’re done practice for today, anyway.”

Scott inhaled deeply and ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he had been a little too hard on her that day. After Tessa had missed a twizzling cue for the second time, he’d impulsively let out a string of frustrated complaints, much to her chagrin. He felt guilty for making her feel like the scapegoat, and he was in no place to do so. He reasoned that he had been too hard on her because of yesterday’s bad training day, where he lost his balance nearly dropped her in a lift. And the day before that, where neither of them could synchronize their step sequence. Well, maybe it hadn’t been a series of bad training days, more like a torturous bad training _week_.

“Tess,” Scott said exasperatedly, rubbing his forearm and trying to catch her eye. She wouldn’t give in. Both of them knew that making a comeback for the Olympics would be a tough one, but they had persevered through every rough day up until that point. Rough training weeks were a given in any sport, but this time it felt different. The pressure was different, the atmosphere was different. And as they were preparing for their third Olympics, _they_ felt different. The famed Tessa and Scott always did things in harmony, right down to their breathing. It really felt like a blunt punch in the face when things weren’t working out.

Tessa wouldn’t respond as she disappeared into the changing room, not giving him another second. Frustrated, Scott grabbed his empty plastic water bottle, crumpled it, and threw into the trash can. Even though they had definitely been through much worse, it still gave him a dead feeling inside when he saw another uphill battle on the horizon.

After they both changed out of their training clothes, Scott met Tessa in the rink’s parking lot. She still seemed to be fuming, not even looking his way as she lead them towards the car, disallowing him to walk beside her. He didn’t let himself try to say another word to her, even as she slid into the passenger seat and crossed her arms. It was almost as if her irritation radiated off her and filled every corner of the car. The tension in the tiny space was almost suffocating.

Yet, somehow, what was even more suffocating to him was the dreaded feeling that he had caused this. Sure, the communication on both ends hadn’t been the best lately, but did he really have to go and berate her out on the ice? _God, Scott_ , he thought to himself. _You shouldn’t have done that_.

“Seatbelt, Tess,” Scott murmured quietly, just barely daring to glance over her way. Her lips were pursed and brow creased, and Scott realized that he hadn’t seen her give him his favourite smile since that miserable week had begun. Staring straight ahead, Tessa forcefully pulled her seatbelt over herself and clicked it into place.

As they drove through the streets of Montreal, Scott couldn’t help but thank his lucky stars that they had a mental preparation session that day. Their sport psychologist team really was a godsend and a major driving force between their skating success. Even though it could sometimes get uncomfortable being sat face-to-face and coaxed to talk about their emotions, at the end of the day they always felt better, like a huge weight had been lifted off their shoulders. It was a big part of the reason why they always knew what the other was thinking and how they were feeling. At that moment, Tessa was a closed book, and Scott wasn’t much better.

Scott felt relieved when he saw the familiar building pull into view. He had just barely parked the car when Tessa unbuckled her seat belt and opened her door, nearly hitting the adjacent car. Scott hadn’t even taken the key out of the ignition when she pushed the door closed with all her force and disappeared into the front entrance.

Scott placed both of his hands on the steering wheel and rested his forehead against his knuckles. Bad weeks like this were truly draining. Not only were they both physically exhausted, but their mental health had been pushed and pulled so hard that it felt like it had weakened. _All we need to do is talk_ , Scott reassured himself. _Things will get better_.

Scott walked into the building, his hands buried deep into his pockets. He went to push the elevator button when he realized that the elevator was already there, open and waiting for him. Inside stood Tessa, her finger lifted and pressing the elevator’s ‘open’ button. She still wouldn’t make eye contact with him, but Scott felt a little pleased knowing that she’d wait for him regardless of the strain on their communication.

Scott stepped in and stood beside her feeling the elevator travel upwards. Her face showed no expression but he could still tell that she had had enough that day. As he went to run his hand through his hair for the second time, the elevator suddenly gave a harsh jolt, causing Tessa to stumble. Naturally, Scott wrapped his arm around her waist and caught her, steadying himself on the side railing. Unexpectedly, the elevator’s lights went out with a _zap!_ and remained stuck in the same position.

“Shit,” Scott mumbled as he realized his hands were still on Tessa’s hips. “You’ve actually got to be kidding me. You okay, Tess?”

He felt Tessa remove herself from his grip and his heart sank a little. “Yes,” she responded coldly. He couldn’t see her, but he imagined her smoothing out her shirt adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

Scott heard Tessa move towards the button panel and press something a few times.

“Nothing is working,” she said quietly, a hint of frustration still in her voice. “The power’s out.”

Scott put his face in his hands. He felt around for the nearest wall and slid down it, sitting on the floor. “Oh my God. Seriously? Of all the times and places?”

He could hear Tessa pacing back and forth, her steps echoing in the small space. If he thought that the tension in the car was bad, this was impossibly worse. There they were, just about to communicate and finally sort things out, something that he was looking forward to. Now they had yet another obstacle keeping them away.

“They’ll come soon,” Tessa said, a slight edge still in her voice. Scott couldn’t tell if he was talking to him or herself.

They waited there in silence for what felt like an eternity, with him sitting crumpled on the floor and her pacing, pacing, pacing. _We just needed to talk_ , Scott thought. _That’s all we’ve ever needed._ He couldn’t ignore the feeling that this was exactly the right time and place.

Scott relented to his thoughts and finally spoke. “Tess? Can we please just talk for a second?”

Tessa gave him no response as she continued to walk back and forth. He could feel the air hitting him and she went a little faster.

“Tess?”

He heard her bag drop to the floor, and he pictured her facing him, looking down at him. “Yes, Scott?”

“I’m sorry,” he heard himself say. He clasped his hands together and awaited her response. Nothing.

“I shouldn’t have gotten so mad at you like that today at practice, that was stupid of me,” he continued. He swore he heard her take a deep breath.

“And…I shouldn’t have been so hard on you this week,” he added thoughtfully, waiting for her to reply. “That wasn’t fair to you.”

After another silent eternity passes, he feels a mass slide down to the floor next to him. He can almost feel her sitting beside him, her legs crossed and her hands resting on her knees.

“Don’t just blame yourself,” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I should have communicated better to you, too. I mean, we are part of a team. I’m sorry.”

They both sat adjacent to one another, neither saying anything else until Scott reaches over, searching for her hand. Just as he had predicted, her hand was resting on her knee, very close to his. He gripped her hand and squeezed it, letting her know he was there.

“It’s been such a rough week for both us,” Scott said, not letting go. “I’m tired and I know you are, too.”

He pictured her nodding along as he continued. “But at the end of the day, this will be worth it, T. No matter how hard this gets, it will be so, so worth it.”

He couldn’t help but smile as he felt her hand squeeze his hand back.

“It will be,” Tessa said reassuringly. “I can’t wait to be up on that podium. Up there with you, Scott.”

“Damn, those gold medals are gonna shine so bright,” he declared, nudging her side. “Can you picture it, T?”

He heard Tessa laugh, one of his favourite sounds in the entire world. “Yes, I can.”

Their voice dropped to silence as the elevator began to rumble and finally move again. The lights were still turned off, but Scott pulled Tessa to her feet, anyways. Without hesitation Scott pulled her into a big hug, they stood there in the dark, wrapped up in each other. Her arms around him was probably the greatest feeling out there.

“I love you always,” he said into her ear. Somehow, she pushed them closer together. “No matter what, we’re together.”

“I love you, too,” she echoed. “No matter what.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Comment one-shot prompts or message me at my tumblr @brighterbolder !  
> -R.


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